red house studio
Photos by Bill McCullough.
the custom-built hub for all of graham's work.
FAQ
Q: what's special about the design?
A: The entirety of the ceiling and the two walls of bookshelves are made from reclaimed picket fences, adding a unique texture and acoustic quality to the room. Graham's book collections lines two walls, softening the sound, before reaching the doubled, alternating layers of the exterior's construction for the purposes of soundproofing. A pegboard wall, inspired by Julia Child's kitchen, is home to a number of Graham's instruments. While the "airlock" serves as a separate small lounge and is home to Graham’s collection of liquors, the studio is a shared space - rather than separated - an intentional decision to facilitate a collaborative daily workflow.
Q: who did you work with for the build? how long did it take?
A: Architect Cassandra Ramirez drew up the plans, and contractor Colby Turner handled construction. The build was completed in just over one year, but the entire process - from initial steps to completion - took three years.
Q: what instruments & Gear do you keep on hand?
A: In terms of Keyboards and Controllers: Kawai MP10 stage piano, Roland Gaia synth, multiple Nektar controllers, Midiplus AKM320 for traveling, Midi Fighter Twister, Quatrobilt midi joystick, APC40, and more. Aside from them, we keep a range of acoustic and electric instruments within reach… a non-exhaustive list includes: a six foot Kawai Grand Piano, multiple drum kits, a collection of acoustic and electric guitars, a bass drum collection (from 18 inch to 40 inch in size), a Marvin, a vibraphone, various gongs purchased in Beijing, various amps and fx pedals, etc.
Q: which daw do you utilize?
A: Reaper is our main recording and mixing DAW, and is sometimes used for live performance. We use Ableton for sketching and some live performance.
Q: what softsynths do you use?
A: We utilize Omnisphere for everything, as well as Serum, Audio Damage Basic, Cableguys Curve 2, U-He Repro, and others on a project-by-project basis.
q: which virtual instruments do you like?
A: Some of our favorites are NI’s Komplete, Trillian, Embertone’s Nerve Many, Soniccouture, Cinematique, Sounddust, Spitfire, and Heavyocity. We also tend towards Waveskimmer, Drums of the Deep, Antidrum, and many others.
Q: What fx do you use?
A: Everything from Valhalla, TDR, Cableguys, Audiodamage, Soundtoys, and Fab Filter. As well as: UVI’s Relayer, NI’s Replika, Guitar Rig, Amplitude, Pecheneg Tremolo, Alex Hilton’s stuff, a selection from Voxengo (especially Tempo Delay), and Graywolf’s Blue Arp. Plus, all of the XFER plugins. Just to name a few.